Children of the Last Queen
by shadowchild25
Summary: Susan Pevensie leaves her seven grandchildren the key to their own adventure before passing to the next world. Follow their journey into a world where they, like their grandmother before them, find themselves at the heart of a prophecy- and a new destiny
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Semi-sequel to my other story Closure, this follows the tale of Susan Pevensie's grandchildren into a magical world all their own. So it pretty much follows the Narnian chronicles only loosely. If you've read Closure, you'll recognize this first chapter as a slightly edited version of the fifth chapter of Closure, done to set the stage without requiring anyone to read Closure. Although if you've read _The Last Battle_, I'd reccommend _Closure_. If you haven't, there are light spoilers in _Children_ and major spoilers in _Closure. _It would be helpful to have read _The Magician's Nephew_ to understand this fic, but not necessary.**

**This will probably be longer than _Closure_, so stick with me! ;-P **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, obviously**

Edward and Stacy Kirke dropped gracelessly down from the tree in their front yard when their mother called them into the house to pay their last respects to their grandmother. They had been hoping to see their cousins' car round the bend, but they hadn't quite arrived yet. The siblings were eager to see Luke and Petra (who weren't brother and sister, but lived on the same street and usually traveled together to family get-togethers), because they were having a hard time getting along with their other cousin Dirk, and the twins Polly and Jill weren't being very social. They had other cousins, but they were all babies, so they couldn't do anything fun.

At one point, the seven cousins had been quite close, back when they used to pretend they were kings and queens of Narnia, the world their grandmother had made up for them. But then they had to go to school, and they weren't able to stay close friends, going to different schools and getting involved in different activities. Most of their parents had discouraged the telling of Narnian tales, once Grandmother began praying to Aslan during church. Her children all knew that her mind was going, and hearing their children speak of Narnia was a reminder that their mother's mind was lost in a world that wasn't theirs. Only the youngest, Lucy, still encouraged her daughter Petra to let her mind wander into Narnia, though Petra was long past the age when imaginary friends and worlds ought to be allowed.

But the seven cousins were gathered today to say farewell to the woman formerly known as Susan Pevensie, and Queen Susan the Gentle. She had asked for them in particular, asked to speak with them alone. Most hoped that there was one last secret of the world they still half-believed in that she was going to impart to them today, on the last day of her life.

But Susan Pevensie, hanging onto the last shred of sanity she had, had other thoughts.

She was holding her gift to them in her hands as the five of them walked in, and when the other two arrived moments later, she still held tight to her gift.

"It was always the truth," she said simply. "And now I give you the keys to finding your own world." She hesitated, looking at her grandchildren, with various expressions of disbelief and hope on their faces. She knew what she was doing had the potential to be dangerous, but something told her that more than that, it was a chance to give Aslan, or Jesus, or whoever he would be in the world that they found, the chance to bring her family into his heart.

"I love you all," she admitted as she handed the youngest, Petra, who looked so much like Lucy, the first Lucy, (oh Lucy, I'm coming!) the yellow rings, and stubborn and angry Dirk (my husband, my love, who is waiting, as he promised, oh I _know_ it) the green ones. "Remember the story of Lord Digory and Lady Polly? These are the rings, the magician's rings, that were among my brothers' possessions when they died, and so came to me. I'm ready to be a wife and sister again, children, but I needed to know that you had something to help you remember the stories- to help you believe. Will you do that for me? Don't tell your parents, don't share it with anyone else, not now. He might tell you to bring others, He might bring others without the rings, or you may never meet Him. Any number of risks come with taking this journey, but I believe in your abilities, and your love for each other, and I know that Aslan, whatever his choice of name or face, watches over you now, as he will in the worlds to come. So go explore the worlds your great-great grandparents gave you the chance to explore. Me? I'm going to see the Kings and Queens of old, the friends of Narnia, for whom you all are named. I know I am," Susan whispered, turning her eyes to the ceiling, "for I can see her now. Send in your parents, you don't need to be here, and they want to be. Now's your chance, little ones."

They obeyed readily, moving into the hallway so that Daniel, Eli and Paul Kirke, Helen Adeles, and Lucy Wright could be with their mother in her final moments. So it was that she had her children with her as she died. And seconds after she closed her eyes, she felt the breeze, the sweet Narnian breeze. And less than a second later, the feel of her Dylan's lips against hers. Susan opened her eyes to him, the same boy she'd met that first day, ages ago. "You did wait for me," she beamed at him, eyes only for him.

"And you were telling the truth, about Narnia," he whispered back, "it's all here."

"That's impossible," she breathed, taking an awe-filled look around her. "This is Narnia, yes, but it's everything and more. Aslan said I could never come back. He told me."

Her one true love just smiled. "Well, you and I are here. And I know where your sister is. Are you ready to see her?"

His own love smiled back up at him. "More than ready, Dylan. Show me."

--------

Petra turned to her cousins. "Hold hands," she instructed them calmly.

"Wait just a minute, shouldn't we think about this?" Luke said, looking fearfully at the rings held in Petra's hands. Dirk walked drunkenly over to Polly, who was wearing a clasp bracelet, and threaded one green ring onto it. The other he tucked into his pocket for safekeeping. Then he gestured for the others' hands and turned back to Petra.

"Please," Dirk whispered to his cousins, "give me a reason to continue believing in Good, in Magic- let me go alone, or come with me."

All the others wondered what this was, why Dirk was saying these things, but they saw the longing in his eyes, the desperation, and slowly, they joined hands together, and everyone looked towards Petra, whose smile couldn't be wider. She almost had the ring on her finger before she suddenly stopped and ran over to Polly to attach a yellow ring ("so one of us can go back and forth, if we get separated somehow," she chirped happily) to the bracelet. With everyone thankful that she'd remembered that, and frozen, fearing what might actually happen when they got where they were going, she inserted herself into the middle of the group, where Edward and Stacy gripped her elbows so her hands would be free.

"Hold tightly now!" she ordered, as she slipped the yellow ring onto her finger. And began their adventure.

----------

The Wood between the Worlds was just as the stories had described it, down to the pools that would emerge into other worlds. The seven wandered between them, hoping for some feeling that would convince them that that particular world was Narnia. But none of them felt it- the pull they'd been hoping for.

"Could it be that Narnia is no more?" Dirk asked softly, sinking down to his knees in the green grass.

"Has to be, or else we're just not allowed there," Jill replied.

"We can't be denied entrance, we haven't done anything wrong," Dirk snapped back, and Jill was about to growl a response when Edward stopped them both with a sharp intake of breath. Six pairs of eyes turned to him, where he stood above a pool. His eyes were alight with wonder.

"It's not Narnia," he murmured. "But we need to go to this world," his eyes implored them to believe him. "Please, we have to go to this world."

The cousins all made their way over to the pool. As they stood, gazing into it, they felt it too.

"This is the one then?" Stacy asked, a bit breathless, her eyebrows drawn together worriedly.

"This is the one," Edward and Luke replied together, exchanging startled glances, then grins.

Dirk rose and stepped into the middle position. "Then let's not waste another minute," he breathed, his face burning with an expression none of the children had ever seen before, but one that Susan would have known in an instant, for the amount of times she'd seen in on the High King Peter's face during his reign. It was the face of a King on the verge of being reconnected with his country, a King returned to his Kingdom. Hooking his arms through the twins', he waited until all had joined hands once again before eagerly shoving his finger through the ring.

-------------------

The world they came into had a deep blue sky and tall, dark green grass. They were in a lane between two halves of a great forest, a lane wide enough for them to see past the forest to the mountains beyond. They stood on a road that clearly led to one of the mountains- a smoking mountain.

A shadow passed directly overhead, covering all of them and much of the area surrounding where they stood. They instinctively ducked, peeking above them. They saw the scaly underside of the dragon's stomach, and fear raced into their hearts. But they stayed frozen as the dragon landed in front of them, as large as an elephant, with huge leathery wings. Before their eyes the dragon began to shrink, until only a man, with emerald eyes to match his dark green dragon wings, stood before them. He looked at each of them in turn, then smiled. None of the children knew what to do, or what to say.

"You have come," the dragon-angel-man stated, his voice clear as a bell with an odd double echo in their heads, "as the Haeve predicted. Come, Children of the Last Queen, there isn't much time left! We must save our last queen from the grasp of the goblins before all is lost for Dragonkind!"

--------------


	2. Chapter 2

At first all the children could do was stare. "Umm, what?" Stacy asked, moving closer to Ed and shifting so that she was slightly in front of Luke.

"We need your help," the dragon-man replied. "You've come, as was foretold, at the very hour you are needed most. I am Shordan. I must bring you to the Home, so that we can plan our rescue of the last female dragon."

The cousins looked around at each other. Dirk and Stacy, as the oldest of the group, were silently voted spokespeople, though Luke seemed rebellious at the idea of it.

"We knew it would be an adventure. Adventures come with responsibilities. Did Grandma ever just go for a joyride through Narnia?" Edward whispered. Stacy rolled her eyes.

"She was Queen for fifteen years. I imagine she enjoyed herself without having a specific purpose at least once," she hissed back.

"But you said it yourself, she was Queen. So she really did have a purpose of some sort. Come on, there's only one thing we can do, Stace."

"Don't call me that," she groaned, as Dirk murmured, "we have to do it."

"We didn't even make up our minds until twenty minutes ago. Half of us barely believed in Narnia until after we were in the Wood. How could our coming have been foretold?" Stacy replied.

"The same way fifteen years became one hour, and one year became 1300 for Grandma," Ed rejoined, "Stacy, I'm surprised. You've always been fond of adventures."

"Yeah, but we all know I'm less than fond of _lizards_," she bit back, sparing a glance at the man who was standing a respectful distance away.

"It's a dragon-"

"_He's _a dragon, actually," the dragon-man interrupted, "I'm male, and can actually hear you. Besides that, there's danger in these parts, so you might want to hurry up."

Stacy turned bright red. Edward grinned over at Shordan. "Stacy, you know Dirk and I are going to win this round."

"You'll win it if there's a majority, and no sooner."

"Jill, Polly?" Ed asked, turning to his younger cousins. The twins rolled their eyes and gestured to the youngest, Luke and Petra.

"Yes, of course," Petra replied without prompting.

Luke, who'd had the most reservations earlier on, was now the most eager, his eyes alight with the challenge. He'd always been a rough and tumble kid, Stacy thought, staring at her cousin as he turned towards the smoking mountain. Quick with his fists, last out of a fight. If this was a world where people fought tooth and- well, probably not nail, but claw anyways- for what they believed in, she knew it would hold appeal for the youngest grandson of Dylan Kirke, who'd always been a fighter himself. Even were that not the case, Stacy saw that something beyond the idea of a brush with danger was calling to Luke from the smoking mountain. "They need us," he replied, his eyes unwavering from the distant mountain.

"Then it's settled," Dirk nodded, his eyes also fixed on the horizon, but in the opposite direction. Following his gaze, Stacy saw only more mountains, and a thin plume of smoke.

"Then I will fly you home, before any harm can befall you," the dragon-man decided, moving away from them. "Please do not be afraid of me, Miss Stacy. I'm no lizard."

"Perhaps not, but that doesn't change the similarity in form," Stacy muttered under her breath, so only Jill and Polly, who were her silent companions in distrusting this world, could hear. Both grinned and hauled their cousin towards the rapidly growing dragon.

------------

Flight was the most incredible thing ever. Even Dirk and Jill, who had always been afraid of heights, found the flight exhilarating (they were cautious and kept their eyes on the horizon, though once or twice Dirk found himself gazing behind them.

Beyond that, they could _feel_ the dragon's thrill with the flight, a joy that did not diminish with age and experience, it would appear. Shordan had informed them in no uncertain terms that his _name _was _Shordan, _hewas a _he,_ not an _it,_ and his _race_ was _dragon, _even when he was in his humanoid form. It was lucky that he'd told them all this while still on the ground, because when he'd taken dragon form, he could only address them mind to mind. They were surprised to realize that he could read their minds, as well, making conversation while in flight a bit easier, though because they couldn't hear each other with the wind rushing past, conversation ceased after about ten minutes, though questions still burned within each of them. They could tell he was curious about them as well, but he understood their desire to speak as a group, and not individually.

Stacy was the only one who found herself drawn to the layout of the land below them. The forest they were in was bisected by a road that led from one volcanic mountain range to another. The forest was bound on either side by lesser rivers that fed into one great river that bisected the valley. On either side of the forest was plains, a fertile valley.

_The ash has beneficial qualities, makes it easier to grow crops in the soil._

"You're farmers?" she asked aloud, startling Petra, who rode in front of her. The dragon broadened his voice to reach all of the children.

_We were not the original farmers. The untamed other-worldlings of the forests farmed. We hunted. We were brethren. But we were unaware of their disappearance from the woods, as we were unaware of the deaths of our brothers. It was a time of want. The Gorin stole our herds, from which we hunted, though we did not know it was them. Our sister tribe had been decimated in their volcanic home, had been overtaken. When we discovered this, we went to our brethren, to ask them to fight the Gorin, and they had vanished. We see them, sometimes, in chains, pulling the Gorin's carts, as we see the women of our sister tribe, irreversibly changed, and subjugated to the will of the Gorin. We couldn't fight the Gorin without risking our own people, and they all knew it. Now the Gorin inhabit the home of our sister tribe, and they enslave our other-world brothers and our sisters from our sister tribe. Now we farm our valley, to feed the herds we now protect with our life, and we leave offerings for the hidden People of the Woods, in the hope that not all of our other-world brothers were taken._

Dirk, who rode in front of them with Luke in a similar fashion as Stacy and Petra, glanced over his shoulder at Stacy, communicating his desire to help the dragons with his eyes.

Stacy, looking down at the forests, where she envisioned the ghosts of dragons clinging to the top branches of the trees, looking up at them as they passed. With a shudder for the plight of Shordan and his people, she nodded back, sealing their destiny in this world forever.


	3. Chapter 3

_The elders will be better able to explain our history, when we arrive, _Shordan announced. _I feel that you are confused._

"There's rather a lot of brothers and sisters," Edward replied, also looking down at the woods, like his sister. He and the twins sat together at the end of the line of cousins, seated securely between two neck spines farther back, where the neck spines were spaced further apart. The twins had been communicating in an odd half-language the entire ride, heads bent together, completely able to understand each other, which left Edwawrd slightly disgruntled.

_Twins in our world have a stronger, more direct telepathic bond, even when in dragon form,_ Shordan explained to Edward. _It's just the way they are._

_Well, I wish they'd stop,_ Edward thought back, and he was shocked to hear the dragon answer.

_Ah, you are not unaware of your mental abilities after all!_

_Mental abilities? _Edward thought, deliberately this time.

_Oh yes, you have incredible mental powers, but you are completely deaf to each other_

_That's strange._

_You are underdeveloped, I guess. I apologize for my rudeness in addressing you alone, but you all are such fascinating creatures. We approach._

-------------------

Dragons and Dragon-winged men stood on ledges on a cliff face on the giant volcano. All faces were turned towards Shordan, approaching with his load of children. Everyone but Luke closed their eyes as Shordan approached a very large ledge that led into a cave in the mountain. As he landed, three large dragons moved out of the shade of the cave into the bright sunlight.

_Welcome, younglings, _they greeted, their mental voices sounding female, ancient, and overwhelmingly loud in the children's minds. More than one cringed.

One looked like it was laughing. _Shordan, you were right, they do have strange minds. Thank you for carrying them here._

_They do not know many things, _Shordan warned her, _and at least one is afraid of us in this form._

_Then we shall adjust our forms for them, and we will attend the meeting we have called in our, what is the littlest one thinking? _The middle dragon cocked her head in Petra's direction. Petra blushed.

"Angelwings, ma'am," she replied quietly, with a blush.

_Our Angelwing form then. What on Yallorya is an Angel, child?_

"Not on Ya- yallor- yalloria? On Earth. Where we come from. And Angel is a being sent from God to protect people, and to watch us as we sleep," the young one said, thinking of the prayers she said every night.

_What strangeness, to have people to watch you sleep. You don't do anything exciting then._

"Stacy does. She talks in her sleep." Edward laughed, before falling silent as the gazes of all the dragon and angelwings turned in his direction.

"Thanks," Stacy hissed, her face red behind a cascade of dark curls, and quite a few of the dragons chuckled, which is a very strange sound and stranger experience when it is you who is being laughed at, because they comfort you mentally even as they do so, assuring you that they aren't laughing at you, even when they are laughing at you.

_Come, we must begin our meeting._

Dirk had never found history fascinating, even when they'd started discussing the wars recently in school. His grandmother's stories of the war never seemed like history, because they had been the reason she'd been able to go to Narnia. History in school seemed dull after his grandmother's tales, but that is the case when you have heard something straight from the mouth of one who has lived that history.

Yallorya was the world of the dragon people, and the honorary name given to their Queen. The dragons were one race that sometimes was divided between two places. The male tribe was known as Allory, and the female tribe as Yllora. It was the female tribe that had been taken over by the Gorin, during the three months of the fifteen month year when they remained separate, observing the special ceremonies of each tribe. Only the three eldest females remained with the males, and only the three eldest males remained with the females, which was why the elders stood here today to speak with the Kirke grandchildren.

"At the end of the three months of separation, the people of Allory come to the mountain of Yllora, and the hatching of our young begins," Amina, the eldest of the females, told the children.

"But it has been many years since this has occurred, and our magic is nearly gone," Nammora, the youngest, moaned.

"What magic?" Stacy asked.

"We put a magic on the eggs, to make them stay alive but not hatch. They have lived in stasis for fifty years."

Dirk nearly choked on the tasty drink they had all been given. "Fifty years?"

"Yes, our other world brothers and sisters have been captured for that long," Amina said sadly, and the children fell silent at the thought of half a century of non-living, of slavery. They all knew, though some wouldn't even admit it to themselves, that they were determined to end it, forever.


End file.
